Back to School Time—for Teachers, too!

St. Jerome faculty picnic at Wildwood

Principal Mrs. Susan Coan and Pastor Rev. Bill Jerse welcomed new and returning St. Jerome faculty and staff to another school year on Tuesday, August 25, 2015.  The morning began with Mass at church and concluded with a lunchtime picnic at Wildwood Park.

We are pleased and proud to introduce some of our teachers to the community:

Phillip Dank teaches preschool and has 17 years of teaching experience in the greater Cleveland area.  “Action” is a word which describes the learning activities which take place in our preschool.  Each “play” activity has learning objectives behind it.  Evidence of creative movement with dance plus visual art projects are observed by parents.

Lyndsey Johnson attended Cleveland State University for a degree in Early Childhood Education.  Last year, she was the first grade aide for Mrs. Coan.  This year she is teaching Kindergarten and looks forward to a fun year!  Over the summer, Miss Johnson taught summer school at St. Jerome.  She recently became engaged and is looking forward to planning a wedding.

Katie Coan is the first grade teacher at St. Jerome School.  Being born and raised in Euclid she attended Holy Cross School and Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School, then went on to Cleveland State University graduating in 2007.  This is currently her seventh year at St. Jerome School and she couldn’t be happier to be a part of this community.  Katie is married to husband, Michael, and they have a six month old daughter, Mary Kate.  Some of her interests include traveling, going to the beach and just enjoying time with her family.

The second grade teacher is Miss Monica Marolt.  She has been with St. Jerome's for the past fifteen years.  Prior to teaching, she was employed in the travel and airline industry.  Miss Marolt had obtained her master’s degree in Education from Lake Erie College as well as her Reading and Math Endorsements.  She holds a wide variety of interests, from quietly reading a favorite novel to skeet shooting and entering cooking contests.

This will be Mrs. Kathy Hughes’ second year teaching fourth grade at St. Jerome School, and she has been teaching for eight years.  Prior to St. Jerome School, she taught fourth grade at St. John of the Cross.  Mrs. Hughes received a teaching degree from Cleveland State University.  She is married and has three girls.  Her oldest daughter attends Lakeland for nursing, the second just started at the University of Cincinnati, and the youngest is a junior at Euclid High School.  Kathy enjoys bike riding in her free time.

Marilyn Ottato is St. Jerome’s fifth grade teacher and has taught fourth, fifth, and sixth grade throughout her career.  She always enjoyed the intermediate grades, because the children are so eager to learn new things.    Marilyn grew up in Schenectady, New York, and moved to Mayfield Village when she was in grade school.  Miss Ottato holds a master’s degree from Ashland University and an undergraduate degree from Ohio University.

Teresa Morgan is the sixth grade teacher at St. Jerome School and has been teaching for over 20 years. She is the wife of a minister, and a mother of three.  Her favorite color is pink, and she loves cats. Mrs. Morgan is a graduate of Villa Angela.  She attended Alabama State University and Troy State University, where she received her bachelor’s degree.  Mrs. Morgan’s motto is "Knowledge is Power."

Patrick Willis, the newly appointed seventh grade teacher at St. Jerome’s, is no stranger to education.  He recently retired from the Kirtland Local School District where he was the principal for nearly 20 years.  He was not ready to settle into retirement, so he is pursuing his avocation of classroom teaching.  His love of travel and curiosity about different cultures will certainly add to his assigned curricular areas of Social Studies and Language Arts.  He and his wife, Felice, have traveled to 36 countries on five different continents.  They are hoping to make it to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August 2016.

Natalie Swol graduated from John Carroll University with a B.S. in Child and Adolescent Behavioral Psychology.  She received a master’s degree in Education from Ursuline College and recently completed K-12 Reading Endorsement from her Alma Mater, John Carroll.  Mrs. Swol has taught in some capacity for 13 years and is entering her eleventh year at St. Jerome School.  Besides having an enthusiasm for teaching, Natalie also enjoys reading, travelling and going to the beach.  Mrs. Swol has been happily married to her college sweetheart for 13 years, and they have two beautiful daughters.

St. Jerome Technology and Music teacher Michael Dragas grew up in Cleveland attending St. Casimir School on Sowinski Avenue.  He graduated from Benedictine High School and Cleveland State University.  Mr. Dragas paid for college with money earned playing in polka and wedding bands.  His grandfather owned Dragas Dry Cleaning on Grovewood and E 170th streets in Collinwood.

From preschool to eighth grade, our outstanding teachers strive to educate the whole child by focusing on personal development, academic excellence, and faith formation at Collinwood’s Catholic School.

Marguerite DiPenti

Marguerite DiPenti

Read More on St. Jerome
Volume 7, Issue 9, Posted 6:40 PM, 09.08.2015